Developers who plan to redo the landmark Cabana Hotel on the edge of downtown Dallas have scheduled a summer start for the project.
The more than 60-year-old hotel across Stemmons Freeway from Victory Park has been gutted for several years after a previous owner’s plans to revamp the property stalled.
Dallas’ Sycamore Development plans to convert the once luxury hotel into a rental housing project with 64 income-restricted affordable rental units and 96 market-rate units.
The Dallas City Council in September approved up to $41 million in economic incentives to support the redevelopment.
The developer plans to have the 420,000-square-foot project finished by the end of next year, according to planning documents filed with the state.
Baltimore-based Urban Design Group is the architect for the $55 million in construction detailed in the filing with the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation.
Sycamore Development plans to repurpose the 10-story building with supporting funds from the Design District tax increment financing district.
Originally called the Cabana Motor Hotel, the Stemmons Freeway building was constructed in 1962 by Las Vegas hotelier Jay Sarno, who developed the landmark Caesars Palace. The hotel gained a celebrity following with guests including the Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
The Cabana closed in the 1970s and later was converted into a minimum-security county jail.
In 2017, Dallas County sold the building to Farmers Branch-based Centurion American Development Group, which planned to restore the building. But the development plan stopped during the pandemic.
Davidson Bogel Real Estate marketed the historic high-rise for sale.
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